Recap

Senex68 wrote: Why is Devonte getting dehydrated? The training staff knows exactly how to prevent cramping. 2 games in a row is inexplicable.

Especially when they've had 5 days in between games to get him properly hydrated and electrolyte balanced!

I will say this from my active duty experience -- some people, even though they know exactly what they need to do when it comes to fluids discipline, for some inexplicable reason just don't do it! I've seen too many instances out in the field where soldiers would not properly hydrate themselves, even though they knew what they needed to do. Maybe DG is one of those types of people.

"But I'm not thirsty!" (The #1 excuse used)
"It's 100 degrees and we're in full battle dress. Drink your water, soldier!"

Under the right (read "wrong") conditions, by the time you are thirsty it's often too doggone late to be able to continue to function effectively, especially when you can't take a break to recover.

I have to disagree fervently with the notion that Frank had a "terrible game, a pathetic game." And that he can be lumped in with Devonte in that category tonight.

I saw the game up close and I'll tell you what I witnessed:

* All 3 of our guards had pretty mediocre first halves (as I noted from the game site at halftime). However, in the grand scheme of things, punctuated mostly by that great 2nd half for KU:

* Mason got in Trimble's grill and completely disrupted his game. Frank did a fantastic job sticking on him like glue (yes, with a few exceptions, but Trimble is a superstar and he's going to erupt from time to time). Mason not only stuck on him and made life very difficult, but he executed well through Maryland's screens (designed to give Trimble an extra step on KU defenders into the lane).

* Frank also handled the ball exceptionally well against Trimble's tenacious, very aggressive defense. I didn't realize until seeing it live how aggressive Trimble's defense is. He really bodies his guys (would get called a LOT in the Big 12) and he's all over the ball handler with his arms and hands. Frank did an exceptional job maintaining his composure against that tonight.

Frank had BY FAR the toughest assignment to night, in as much as every scout of Maryland knows that as Trimble goes, so goes Maryland. Well, Frank had him head to head (on defense and offense), and here's how the two wound up on the stat sheet:

Trimble: 5-16 shooting (putrid), 1-7 three-point shooting (horrible), 2 rebounds (lousy), 2 assists (lousy for a PG), 2 turnovers

Mason: 4-11 shooting (much better than Trimble), 1-2 three-point shooting (passive, but still 50%), 5 rebounds (solid), 4 assists (solid), 1 turnover (OUTSTANDING, given Trimble's pressure and tenacity)

Mason didn't light up the scoreboard like Ellis, and his D on Trimble might not have been as noticeable as Landen's schooling of Maryland's bigs on the boards, but he played his buns off tonight and helped decapitate the head of the Maryland attack.

As for Devonte, again, I concur with you that he was just putrid. I know he cramped up, but even before that happened he was not guarding well (losing his man off screens, not closing quickly). Beyond that, he was SO PASSIVE all night on offense (2 field goal attempts? SERIOUSLY???). We couldn't believe it. He passed up multiple open shots... But the real head-scratcher was his mental errors, of which there were several. He had some egregiously bad passes for intercepts, and that one play where he was being very lightly pressured by the sideline and just bounced the ball away directly to a Maryland defender (for a MD fast break) was UNI-like (vs. A&M). What the heck was wrong with him tonight? The good news is that he's been SO good for us down the stretch that I'm definitely just writing this one off and giving him a pass for a completely flaccid, mediocre game. A rare, negative eclipse for him, I guess. I suspect he'll be back on and dialed in for Villanova--he'd better be, because they have some serious guards!

I concur with everything else you wrote, but just had to push back on the Frank assessment. There was a LOT of "trench warfare" stuff going on that might not be so discernible on TV, but I believe the eye test and the stat sheet speak very well of his overall game tonight, despite his continued physical ailments. And I would underscore that shutting down Trimble cannot be overemphasized as a pivotal cog in our victory tonight.

Humbly submitted for further thought.

Rock Chalk...

Devonte has a full day and a half to heal up, get liquids, and hopefully get over whatever he had. Cross your fingers it isn't a viral thing, folks, because that would obviously not be good.

One more game for the lads to buckle down, buck up, and get 'er done. The FF awaits, and that should be motivation aplenty.

PS: I think Frank's game was perhaps the most impressive of any on the court given his ongoing ailments and who he was assigned against. In every timeout and in warmups, you could see the guy walking so gingerly. Then the whistle goes and he's off to do his thing. That job he did on Trimble last night (both ends) had to require a TON of energy and physical output, so let's hope he gets a very nice day of rest today and tomorrow (in the run-up to the late tip) as well.

Rock Chalk...